Casket construction



April 15, 1958 W. L. SLAUGHTER GASKET CONSTRUCTION Filed July 20, 1956 2 Sheet's-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. WML/,4M L. .SL/:UGHTER BY April l5, 1958 w. sLAUGHTl-:R GASKET CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledJuly 20, 1956 INVENTOR.A l4f/UAM SLAUGHrE/" Y United States CASKET CONSTRUCTION Application July 20, 1956, Serial No. 599,130

Claims. (Cl. 276) This invention relates to metal caskets and is more particularly directed to the construction of casket bodies from soft, untempered, enduring metal sheets of light gauge, particularly zinc.

An object of this invention is to provide a casket having a body constructed of soft, untempered, enduring metal sheets of light gauge, particularly zinc.

Another object of this invention is to provide a casket body of the above character having a lid hinged to one wall thereof, said wall being so constructed that the wall to which the lid is hinged does not slump or bow into permanently distorted and useless condition.

A further object of this invention is to provide a casket body of the character in which an elongate, rigid, anti-bow member is secured in atwise face-to-face engagement with the under side of the top ilange portion of the wall to which a lid is hinged and in which an elongate member having at least one longitudinal fold extends adjacent the intermediate panel portion of the wallrand has its ends secured by solder to the opposed faces of the under side of the elongate, rigid, anti-bow member, and the bottom flange portion, respectively, the upper end of the elongate member being secured to the anti-bow member adjacent a hinge member.

A further object of this invention is to provide a casket body of the above character having side walls and end walls formed from sheet zinc and having hollow moldinglike top and bottom portions joined by an intermediate panel portion, the walls having inwardly projecting top and bottom ange portions in substantially parallel relation to each other, the walls meeting in mitre joints and being soldered together, a corner member being secured to the panel portions of adjoining abutting walls adjacent the hollow bottom molding portion, the corner members extending downwardly to an integral ange lying in atwise abutment to a portion of the bottom flange and being secured thereto, the corner member substantially precluding splitting of the mitre corner seam as a result ofthe forces applied through impact or collision of an object with the casket body adjacent said seam. A further object of this invention is to provide a casket body of the above character in which the hoilow, molding-like portion is provided with an elongate, tempered, stiiening member secured to the body to precludeinward or outward bowing of the upper hollow molding portion of the casket wall to 'which the lid is hinged. h

A further object of thisinvention is to provide a casket of the above character in which lid latch actuating means are mounted in the Wall thereof adjacent to but spaced fromjthe top lip ange.

.A further object of this invention is to provide a casket of the above character having a plate lying in face-toface abutment with a portion of the casket wall adjacent fthe top lip ange thereof, casket latch actuating means extending through registering apertures provided in said wall and plate, the casket latching means being actuatable by rotation of portions thereof, the plate member f` tent-O 2,830,354 Patented Apr. 15, i958 serving to preclude permanent distortion of the body wall adjacent the latch actuating means incident to operation thereof.

A further object of vthis invention is to provide a casket body of the above character in which a member of elongate, L-shape in section is secured in flatwise abutment with the intermediate panel portion of the side wall and with its foot portion secured in tiatwise engagement to the upper face of the bottom wall ange, the member being connected to external casket-carrying handles, whereby the intermediate panel portion of the wall is protected from permanent distortion incident to carrying of the casket by said handles by reason of a portion of the load being transferred to the L-shaped member.

The above and other objects and features of this invention will in part be obvious and will in part be ap.- parent to those having ordinary skill in the art towhich this invention pertains, from the following description, and the drawing, in which:

Figure l is a view in front elevation of a casket em'- bodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view in end elevation of the casket illustrated in Fig. l, portions thereof being broken away to more clearly show the co-operation of the casket wall, plate and latch actuating means;

Fig. 3 is a view in perspective of a fragmentaryportion of a casket body, partly in section taken adjacent the latch actuating means;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view in perspective, partially in section of a portion of the rear wall of the casket body illustrated in Fig. l;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view in perspective partly in section, illustrating the construction of lower corners of the casket body, and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view in perspective, partly in section, showing one of the lower corners of a lcasket body constructed in accordance with another embodiment of this invention.

Long known as a metal which will long endure when buried in the earth, zinc has not been used as extensively as this quality might suggest. Iron and its alloys and the more expensive metal copper and its alloys have been far more extensively used in this field. lron'and its alloys generally used are less enduring than zinc when buried in the earth as a casket. Copper and its alloys are more expensive than zinc which endures about as well when buried. However, while caskets can be fabricated from sheet steel and from sheet copper by the same or similar tools and techniques and of substantially the same structure, such has not been the case with zinc.

Zinc is soft, easily deformed by forces of a magnitude such as a casket is often exposed to during normal handling between manufacture and placement in the earth. The joints or seams of steel and of copper caskets are welded or brazed but those of zinc caskets, because of the temperatures involved, can only be soldered with a soft solder. The soft soldered joint is much weaker than the joints used in the steel and the copper caskets. As a result, for example, the corner seams of zinc caskets often open under the force of impacts encountered in their trans'- portation. Also an otherwise conventionally constructed sealer casket, but constructed of sheet zinc, will often become useless if left with the lids in opened position, particularly ifjexposed to the suns rays. The wall of the body to which the lid member or members are hinged will frequently sag or slump, as well as bow inwardly or outwardly, making closing and sealing of the casket impossible. l

Even when the casket has survived to the point where the casket lid is closed, it frequently is damaged in latching. Many casket lid latches are actuated by rotation of y operates with thimble 58, supporting same at a point spaced from plate 56 and wall portion 19. A rotatable shaft 62 extends through thimble 58 and suitable sealing means such as washers, packing, or the like (not shown) are provided between members 58 and 62 to elect a Huid-tight seal therebetween, The outer exposed end of shaft 62, as shown in Fig. 3, may be adapted to cooperate with a key or wrench, by suitable means, such as a hexagonal recess or socket 63. The latch mechanism illustrated in the drawings comprises an elongate, reciprocatable bar 64 having a plurality of wedge-shaped tongues 65 adapted to engage depending stirrup-like keeper members 66 secured to the lid portions 9. The tongues 65 of elongate bar 64 serve as wedges co-operating with stirrup-like keeper members 66 for wedgingly drawing the lids 9 toward casket body 8. A suitable gasket member 69 is preferably provided between the opposed faces of wall portions 21 and the opposed face portion of the lids 9, the gasket 69 serving to effect a seal between lids 9 and casket body 8, as the latch mechanism is actuated. To actuate the latch mechanism, a plurality of rack teeth 70 are provided on bar 64 in engagement with pinion gear 71 secured to shaft 62 for rotation in unison therewith. Thus, when shaft 62 is rotated by means of key or wrench 73 (shown in Fig. 2), latch bar 64 is reciprocated to latch or unlatch the lids 9 of casket 7.

Turning again to Fig. 4, it will be noted that bottom 16 has portions 72 thereof displaced upwardly to provide channel or groove-like indentations in the lower face thereof, in which skid members 75 are mounted by Z- bars 76 soldered to the under side of bottom 16 and extending into engagement with grooves provided in skid member 75. I prefer that the dimension A of skid member 75 is greater than the distance B, in order that the skid members 75 engage the supporting surface upon which casket 7 is placed.

In Fig. 6 is shown a corner construction for a casket body 8 constructed in accordance with another embodiment of this invention. The casket body 8 is similar to that already described in all details of construction, other than the corner structure, and, accordingly, other portions of the casket body 8 have not been shown in detail. The casket body 8 has a side wall 82, an end wall 83, and a bottom 84. The side and end walls are each provided with a vertical-faced base section 85, an inwardly extending horizontal portion 86, a quarter-round portion 87, and an upwardly extending face 88. Edges of the side and end walls are mitred and soldered together at the edge 89. The walls and bottom may be formed of zinc.

The corner portion of the wall of the casket body is strengthened by an angle-shaped brace 9 1 of steel, or the like. The brace 91 extends from the bottom 84 along the inner wall of a floor rib 92 to immediately below the fold line between the quarter-round portion 87 and the upwardly extending face 88. The brace 91 is soldered to the wall and to the bottom as indicated in the drawings, and serves to strengthen the corner section of the casket body to prevent splitting of the corner seam in the event of any substantial stresses at the corner.

Having described the invention, it will be apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains, that various modifications and changes may be made in the illustrated embodiment, without departing from the spirit or the scope of the appended claims.

Therefore, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A casket body of soft sheet metal, the walls of said body being formed to provide hollow molding-like top and bottom portions and an intermediate panel portion, said walls having a bottom ange, the central portion of the bottom ange being of inverted channel form to provide an upstanding longitudinal rib intersected by the plane of the panel portion, a support member of L-shape in vertical section secured in face-to-face engagement with and across said panel portion and downward to said rib, the foot flange of said support member being secured to said rib, handles, handle-securing means co-operating with said support member and wall panel, whereby said casket may be carried without permanent distortion thereof.

2. A sheet zinc casket body having a rear wall member formed to provide hollow molding-like top and bottom portions and an intermediate panel portion, said wall member having a bottom flange and a top lip ange, at least one hin-ge member secured to and Supported on said top molding-like portion for hingin-g a lid to said body, at Ileast one elongate member having -at least one longitudinal fold line, said elongate member extending between said bottom flange and said top lip flange adjacent a hinge member and being secured to said flanges and to said intermediate panel portion whereby sagging of the rear wall member under the weight of the lid when raised, is precluded.

3. A sheet zinc casket body having a rear Wall member formed to provide hollow molding-like top and bottom portions and an intermediate panel portion, said wall member having a bottom ange and a top lip ilange, a Ilongitudinal tempered metal member soldered to the under side of said top lip flange inside said body, at least one hinge member secured to Iand supported by said top molding-like portion for hinging a lid to said body, at least one elongate member extending between said bottom flange and said top lip ange adjacent a hinge member and being secured to said flanges and to said intermediate panel portion whereby slumping and bowing of the rear wall member is precluded.

4. A casket body of formed sheet zinc metal, said body having side walls and end walls formed to provide hollow molding-like lower wall base portions meeting in mitre corner joints, each of said wall portions having a bottom flange, the central portion of which is formed to provide an upstanding longitudinal channel rib disposed between said molding portion and a casket bottom engaging portion, said mitre joint being soldered on the inside of the body, a corner member folded along a vertical line and being of L-shapc in vertical section, the fold line of said corner member being adjacent the mitre joint of an end wall and a side wall, said corner member being soldered adjacent its upper edge to portions of said end wall and side Wall adjacent the upper portion of said molding-like Wall base portions, the foot of the corner member resting upon 'and being soldered in flatwise engagement with the upper face of the channel rib, whereby splitting of the mitre corner seam spaced from said corner member is substantially precluded.

5. A casket body of formed sheet zinc metal, said body having side walls and end walls formed to provide hollow molding-like lower central base portions meeting in mitre corner joints, each of said Wall portions having a bottom flange, said mitre joint being soldered on the inside of the body, a corner member of L-shape in vertical section mounted on said bottom flange and extending upwardly therefrom to the wall portion, the upper portion of the corner member being soldered to the end wall and to the side wall, the foot of the corner member resting on land being soldered to the bottom flange, whereby splitting of the mitre corner seam spaced from said corner member is substantially precluded.

Ludwig July 3, 1934 Baker July 10, 1956- 

